She awoke with a start. Someone was banging on the door. Her eyes slowly opened and she jumped out of bed. She slipped her feet into her slippers, put on her robe and walked to the door to see who it was.
She was surprised to see the mail man holding an over sized envelope and a gift box of flowers. Then she remembered what day this was. It was her birthday and this was the first of many over the hill birthday gifts she would receive. She sighed. She was now a true member of the over the hill gang. This was her fiftieth birthday and she was aging.
The letter carrier handed her a box of flowers and large birthday card. He wished her a happy birthday. She thanked him, walked into her house and smiled.
She filled a vase with fresh water. She took the flowers out of the box; clipped the bottom of each stem and placed the red roses into the water. She opened her card and realized she had just received the first of her over the hill birthday gifts.
The phone rang most of the day. Friends and family called to wish her a happy birthday, She felt so special that tears filled her eyes. No longer did she have to wonder what it would feel like to celebrate her fiftieth birthday and receive over the hill gang birthday gifts. She just found out.
For most of the day over the hill gag gifts kept arriving. Each gift had a fun card that made reference to her age. One card showed a picture of an old woman with wrinkles on her face leaning on a cane. She did not know whether to laugh or cry. The picture was far from looking like her.
Suddenly she felt happy. She felt free to do anything she wanted to do for the rest of her life. She wanted to go back to college and get her art degree. She suddenly felt free to do whatever made her happy.
One of the over the hill gag gifts showed an old woman on a plane. She wanted to travel. She was tired of going to work every day. She had a life yet to live. She wanted to live it.
One of the gift boxes contained retro candy buttons. She almost forgot how good they had tasted. She pulled one off the white paper strip it stuck to and popped it into her mouth. It still tasted delicious. She recalled some of her dates. She saw Frank Sinatra in person and danced to the music of Tommy Dorsey. The subway to New York was safe and clean. At Christmas time, her date took her to see the Rockettes dance on the stage of Radio City Music Hall in New York City. She wished she could turn back the clock. She took a make-believe-puff out of one of the retro candy cigarettes and blew out make-believe-smoke. She began to feel young again.
This morning she woke elated at the thought of becoming one of the over the hill gang. She spent most of the day reminiscing. She enjoyed the last of her retro candy buttons and came to a decision about the changes she was going to make in her life now that she was a part of the over the hill gang. She was going to start fresh as though she were a child again.
No comments:
Post a Comment